


Just Another Day in Sleepyhouse

by c4lfeen, ChorusStar1O1



Category: Sleepyheads Discord
Genre: A little bit of angst, Anna and Cal are just vibin' while the groupchat creates chaos, Cal is a dumbass and i love him for it /p, Chaos, Computers, Cookies, Dilfza, Discord Bots - Freeform, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hot Chocolate, Jschlatt - Freeform, Kyle the Cat - Freeform, Neopronouns, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sleepyheads Server, Sleepyhouse AU, Soup, The Baby Is Safe Groupchat, as a treat, more tags to be added later, plot isn't resolved, so many gay bitches, so many neopronouns, technically abandoned, we love our bot mothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28714608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c4lfeen/pseuds/c4lfeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChorusStar1O1/pseuds/ChorusStar1O1
Summary: Jay’s shout breaks the silence of the room. “I THOUGHT BEING ATTRACTED TO SCHLATT WAS BAD, BUT AT LEAST I’M NOT ATTRACTED TO HIS FURSONA!”**A day in the life of the best Discord server as a house, featuring various people on the server.
Relationships: Anna | Chorus & Calvin | Fakenoblade, Bee (Original Character) & Vea (Original Character), Calvin | Fakenoblade & Hartley (Original Character) & Mars (Original Character), Cinna (Original Character) & Maxwell (Original Character)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 22





	1. The Dumpster

**Author's Note:**

> Pronoun list:  
> Anna/Chorus: she/her  
> Cal/Fakenoblade: they/them  
> Cinna: he/him  
> Jay: he/him  
> Max: pu/puyo  
> Pepper: she/her  
> Bee: ve/ven, vae/vaier  
> Vea: she/her  
> Tatsu: she/they  
> Starboard: she/her  
> Hartley: he/him  
> Mars: he/they  
> Ghoul: they/them  
> Cloud: she/her  
> Crunchie: it/its  
> Almond: she/her  
> Cody: he/him  
> Cog: fox/foxes  
> Zell: she/her
> 
> note: some of these people use more pronouns irl but for the sake of continuity we're sticking with just one set (or two for Bee, who's special /g)

Jay’s shout breaks the silence of the room. “I THOUGHT BEING ATTRACTED TO SCHLATT WAS BAD, BUT AT LEAST I’M NOT ATTRACTED TO HIS FURSONA!”  


A cacophony of noise blows in through the door, voices overlapping from outside. The curtains in the window hide the scene. Trash flutters in the breeze as Jay and Max yell while Cinna, Vea, and Bee offer commentary and provoke the chaos.  


Anna and Cal glance at the doorway, neither wanting to get up and close it. They sit in their comfy armchairs, casually threatening each other while sipping warm drinks. The vibes are light and warm, wrapping around them in a soft hug. Anna swirls her cup a bit, watching the marshmallows twist around.  


"What would be more soul-breaking: Black Parade or Megalovania?" she asks Cal, taking another sip of her hot chocolate.  


A crash echoes from outside. Cal stares into the fire, zoned out.  


"Cal. Cal. CaL."  


"HEH?"  


She repeats her question, ignoring the screams echoing across the house. Kyle slips into the room through the gap in the doorway, padding across the dark wooden floors. His tail curls, whiskers twitching as he meows at the room’s occupants.  


Cal tilts their head. “Who are we breaking? That’s the real question.”  


“Eh, it’s more hypothetical.” Anna stands up and walks across the room to grab the cookie tin from the desk. Her hand slides over the keyboard, snickering at an inside joke before she turns around. "Anyway, do you think the smell of smoke or gasoline is more comforting?" She sits back down in her armchair, tucking her socked feet against the arm. Kyle jumps into the chair to curl up under her bent knees. Anna reaches down with a smile, patting his head.  


Cal ponders the question, crossing their ankles. A voice bounces into the room, faint but reminiscent of Max’s distinct tone.  


"I'M NOT A FURRY BUT SCHLATT FURSONA :woozy_face:"  


“Mmm, gasoline definitely, makes me think more of arson,” they answer.  


With a maniacal grin, Anna nods. "Yeah, my favorite smell is diesel because it reminds me of summers on the jetski in Ohio. It caught fire one day."  


Cinna bursts into the room, his hair disheveled and panic written on his face. The thumps and yells of the other room grow closer. While he struggles to breathe from running up the stairs, the pair face back towards the fire.  


"Where would you think the best place to dispose of muscle is?" Anna asks.  


“Depends, really.”  


“On what?”  


“Access to a junkyard would be handy.”  


"GUYS PLEASE THEY'RE MANIACS CAN I,” Cinna huffs, “PLEASE!"  


Anna glances briefly at Cinna without a single emotion in her face. "Who started it, Cinna?", she says as Cal gestures toward the open armchair and couch. Anna throws them a glare. “No!”  


“Thank you Cal-” Cinna starts, “uhh… it depends on what you mean,” he tells her.  


“Anna, we have a guest, be nice,” Cal warns, their voice sharp.  


“No,” she snaps, biting into a ginger cookie.  


“Would you rather be dealing with the problem outside?” A screech echoes their point.  


Cinna, still panting, tries to catch his breath from running in from the yard. “Do y’all have any cocoa left?”  


“I can make a bit more for you and anyone else who wants in,” Cal says while getting up from their chair. They hiss as their body aches. They walk over to the area next to the door where there’s a counter covered in powder and marshmallows.  


“Oh that’d be lovely, thank you,” Cinna smiles. Anna growls from her chair, taking another angry bite of the cookie. She considers throwing it at Cinna’s blue hair, but decides not to waste her treat.  


“I’M FUCKING FOURTEEN, HOW OLD ARE YOU, HUH?” Jay’s voice raises. Cinna winces as Max responds, “I’M ALMOST FIFTEEN, BYE! I’M CHANGING MY FACE! This is all Cinna’s fault.”  


Cinna throws open the window, sticking out his head down to the dumpster full of gremlins. “YOU’RE THE ONE WHO WANTS TO FUCK THE SHEEP, NOT ME!”  


Anna and Cal glance over, taking synchronized sips of their drinks. Anna tosses them a cookie, sugar this time. It’s iced like a sheep, with curls of white frosting. Cal smirks before biting the sheep’s head off. They drop a few marshmallows into the mug before setting it on the end table.  


Pepper walks in from the street, beeping her car keys. “Alright, which one of you fuckers found this subreddit and why?” The group starts back up like a lawnmower, tumbling over one another to explain and argue. Cinna blinks at the renewed chaos, before closing the window and drawing the curtains. He walks over to the couch, ignoring Anna’s look before sprawling out. A blind hand stretches out for the black mug on the table.  


Cal settles back down in their armchair, now with their guitar. They strum some gentle chords, testing different combinations for a new song.  


Cinna sips his cocoa and offers his question. “Anyways, opinions on Sharpie smell?”  


Cal picks a chord and glares at the fretboard. “It smells like office. Dunno how. Or why. It just kinda does.” They shift up a fret and try again.  


Pepper’s voice pierces through the closed window. “This groupchat is a fucking nightmare and I’m not even in it!”  


Cinna chokes on his cocoa, setting his mug back down. Anna considers offering one of the water bottles from her bag, but decides against it. She sips from her own mug, still petting Kyle.  


The group outside has started to settle. She can hear footsteps walking into the house, talking in low voices. Bee and Vea. They’re probably heading to their shared room, where they spend most of their time. She can’t hear Pepper, but if she’s in the house she’s probably in headcanons, pinning more ideas on the wall to expand the webs. Max and Jay are still outside, but their conversation has dropped to furious whispers. Their words are inaudible, but if she had to guess, they’re talking about the groupchat that started the issue. Somehow, Max managed to get in the middle of the drama without even being a part of the group.  


Anna gazes around the room. Now that the curtains were closed, the room is rather gloomy. Although the fire crackles brightly and the smell of warm chocolate still wafts across the room, the corners seem to be closing in. The back of her neck prickles. Cinna is hunched over drinking, distant as he explores his own mind. Cal continues to pick at their guitar, their pale eyes narrowed in frustration. She swings her legs back to the floor, guilt rising at Kyle’s plaintive meows as she stands.  


Neither person looks up as she sets down her mug. She opens the curtains for Cal, knowing they prefer the light, and sets the cookie tin in front of Cinna before heading for the door. She has her favorite rooms, and this is definitely one of them, but there’s something she has to do now, and this isn’t the place.


	2. The Atrium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna finds out something shocking while in the atrium.

The house is quiet in the mornings. The members have things to do: work, school, other places that call their attention. Still, there’s always those times when chaos reigns. Anna grimaces as she looks out the window, taking in the scene of the aftermath. The dumpster looks the same as ever, not even indents marking where the gremlins were sitting. She continued her path across the second floor, passing by her own room. It’s almost bare, only a few pictures on the walls. She doesn’t spend much time in there. It’s too new, lacking memory and fun. She passes other rooms, some doorknobs are more worn than others. 

Now out of the fan sections, she turns a sharp corner into a dark hallway. The scone on the wall is out, as it has been since she discovered this place. It discourages exploration, they say, and she understands that. It hurts every time, forcing herself through the veil of darkness. Blind, she feels along the wall until her fingers run over a raised symbol. She presses the lock carefully, and the wall swings open. 

The first time she’d opened the door, she’d been blinded. The atrium behind had been flooded with light. She’d made sure to change that. Now, she’s greeted by a cool purple bulb, spilling light across the room. It fluctuates between hues, making the room randomly brighter. The mod atrium reminds her of both a museum and a garden. Formal, yet fun. She still isn’t sure how it balances the two. Four doors greet her, each marked with their own lock symbol. These are merely decorative, however. She walks to the couch sunken into the center of the room and drops into it with a sigh. “Why are those children so chaotic?” she asks the empty room. 

“Thirty to thirty one! Level up! Congratulations Anna!” a cheerful voice chimes. Anna yelps, opening her eyes just in time to watch Tatsu disappear, leaving behind an earthy scent. Now sitting up straight, she grins and yells back a thanks. 

Leaning back again, she frowns. _When was the last time we saw Mama Tatsu outside of her duties?_ Usually, Mama was in the garden, planting flowers and shrubs around the house. Grinning freely at the sky, like she could see something no one else could. But now, she is empty. She does her duties mechanically, nothing more than the standard. Anna can remember when Mama would stroke her hair when delivering a level up message, or joke about the current leaderboard as she posted it. 

Her brow pinches and she looks over to the door on the right wall. It proclaims BOTS in loud letters, and a muffled machine can be heard behind the door. Anna moves towards the door, but turns at the last second. She leans over the short desk, tilting up the terminal screen to scroll through the list of people in the area. When people are out of range, she can see only an empty gray circle by their name. She scrolls through the list, noting that no moons or clouds are currently online. Neither is President Ghoul, but there’s almost 100 dreamers currently active. She swipes down the list quickly, accidentally passing the bots section. There! 

Between the last active dreamer and the first offline person, the bots are listed in blue. Some of them have server jokes. Streamcord's nickname is "actually working?" as a reminder of the days when he would send messages extremely late. Anna scans the list. _Birthday Bot, Cuck, Todd, Streamcord, Mama, Rythm..._ the same faces as always. She sighs, putting the terminal back down. A glint catches her eye and she glances back with a frown. Her eyes widen as she takes in the list again, and she drops the tablet. 

“Oh my god…” she whispers, taking a step back. 

She turns on the spot and runs through the nearest door, leaving the atrium empty but for the glowing screen.

* * *

The atrium is quiet. The white sofa in the center of the room is full of pillows, mostly ones that are sentimental. They clash with each other, but they are history. Above the doors on the back wall, a bright sign flashes. It is changeable, and Cog had set it to say “Unpaid Interns Who Work Here!” months ago. Anna smiles every time she sees it. 

The room is reminiscent of a jungle, tall trunks and vines. A layer of grass and flowers can almost be seen covering the floor. The hum of the machines is like bird calls, vocal outputs screeching like monkey hollers. The fans blow the generated heat around the room, gusts of hot air swinging the wires. Bright lights flash on and off, creating a vivid color scheme that constantly changes. 

The only activity in the atrium is the dimming light of the terminal, abandoned on the desk. The door next to it is shaking slightly from the energy behind it. Inside the room, the noise level is louder than the MCC 10 Aqua Axolotls. Anna stands in the center of the room, surrounded by monitors. The cords weave across the entire room. Various machines fill the space, pressed against walls and free-standing in the center. Wires whip around, making it a hazard to not step carefully. Each bot has its own setup. The biggest by far is Mama Tatsu’s, but Carlbot, lovingly called Cuck, has almost as large of an empire. 

Some areas are dark. The handmade backup bot’s station sits quietly in the corner, gathering webs. Anna remembers installing it with Almond’s help, carefully plugging it in with help from the hacker mainframe on call. Two stations labelled “Pingybot” are inactive, waiting for instructions. They turn on occasionally. And now, Anna glances at the left wall. Pressed right up against Tatsu’s wires is a sleek metal box. There are no markings, but it shines like the sun. Anna had set it there herself, hoping for a day to use it. Today. 

Rapid code flickers across the monitors, filling the screens with information. Anna squints through it, reading faster than most can follow. She looks down to type a quick command and continues scanning. Apparently satisfied, she picks her way over to the box, stepping over taped down wires and ducking under low-hanging cables. 

She brushes her hand across the front of the box. A thin layer of dust slides off, revealing part of a word. “arbo”. She holds her breath as she feels along the end of a box for a clasp. It slides down smoothly, and the walls retract in a flash. Something starts to hum, and the monitor tilts up. Green text starts to appear, a cursor blinking at the end of each line. 

\--- 

13:34:09 `power input recognized… boot sequence initiated…`

13:34:17 `boot complete… searching for terminal connection…`

13:35:01 `terminal connected… loading persona…`

13:35:53 `persona loaded… launching Starboard…`

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Combined chapter 2 and 3 because they were pretty short, so this is the new chapter two! The next part will probably be more like the first, because I have a lot of ideas for the server members and plot can wait :).


	3. The Hallways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal talks to everyone, so much.

“These are not good vibes!” Cal yells as the room breaks into chaos. Ghoul, in the corner, appears to be preaching to a group of people hanging onto xyr every word. Xey has a wide grin and Cal can feel the passion radiating from the corner. Right next to xem, possibly connected but probably not, the (o) cult is worshipping. A large glowing disc on the wall flickers and the followers bow. Cal avoids the cult, given that they had a large part in starting it and now have to deal with the hero worship. Shaking it off, they turn around and jump. 

“HI CAL!” Hartley shouts, his hat jangling as he grins. Cal takes a calming breath and slings their arm over Hartley’s shoulder. His hands brush across Cal’s face, smoothing the edge of the fabric blindfold down. They walk over to one of the walls together, settling against the pillows. Aptly, the room is called the pillow room. Some pillows are big, some small. Some are fluffy and some are smooth. Usually, everyone has a favorite pillow, and sometimes they bring it around with them. For example, Pepper’s favorite is a pink and orange striped pillow with a spoon on it. She never lets it go. 

Cal settles back against the wall with a sigh, turning to face Hartley. “Do you have anything to eat? I’m starving.” 

Hartley pulls out a bowl of chips. “To share”, he explains, and then his face folds into a frown. “I also have this.” He pulls out a container of soup, about the same size as the chip bowl. 

“Chicken noodle? Oh thanks, I’ll take this off your hands!” 

“Soup sucks,” Hartley mutters, “fuck soup.” 

Cal chuckles. “You’re adorable.” 

“NO!” Hartley throws his head in his hands, obviously flustered by the comment. 

Cal grins and reaches for another chip. At that moment, their fingers start to feel warm and they notice the chips aren’t there. They jerk their hand away, confused as to what had happened, when their question is suddenly answered by both the sound of Hartley laughing and the feeling on their fingers. 

“You just dipped your fingers into the fucking soup, oh my god,” Hartley says, trying not to laugh and failing. 

Cal frowns but can’t hold it for long, so after a second they break into laughter along with Hartley. “Sorry man, just got distracted by you being cute,” they say after a moment. 

Hartley throws his head back into his hands, letting out a muffled “stoppppppp.” 

“Y’ALL GAY,” comes a shout from across the room. Hartley pulls his head out of his hands to see Mars walking toward them, a box of goldfish in hand. 

“Cal is being mean to meeee,” Hartley complains. 

“You’re just a nerd,” Cal replies. With that, they turn towards Mars, who was right next to them now. “Woah, look who’s awake!” 

Mars flicks their head at the comment. “Listen here, fuckass,” he says, barely finishing the end of the sentence before giggling. Mars had just come from his room, which he shares with Hartley. The two were going to share a room with Cal, but all agreed that it would’ve been too much work considering Cal had had their room before Mars and Hartley had even started living in the house. Besides, Cal likes the way they have their room set up and they prefer having the alone time. 

“Cal? Hey, Cal,” Hartley says, tapping on their shoulder. 

Cal didn’t realize they were lost in their thoughts until their name was said. “Sorry, zoned out for a second,” they say, shaking their head and trying to clear their mind. 

“It’s okay, we just thought you were asleep because of the blindfold,” Mars says curiously. “What’s that even for? It seems like you have it off all the time in your room..” he begins reaching for the cloth over their eyes. 

Cal instinctively jerks backwards and puts their hand over the blindfold, accidentally squishing Hartley. Mars pulls his hand back as well, a confused expression on his face. 

“Sorry,” Cal says, feeling guilty for scaring him like that. “Force of habit, you didn’t do anything wrong.” 

“It’s okay, just concerned is all,” he replies. 

After a moment of silence, the two hear a wheeze from behind them. 

“Oh my god,” says Cal, scooting forward and glancing at where the noise came from. 

“Bones,” Hartley wheezes, having been squished behind Cal when they jerked back a minute ago. “Ow.” 

The three begin laughing, Mars spitting out the goldfish he’s been eating throughout the conversation. Still shaken, Cal decides to wander around to calm down. After saying their goodbyes, they grab their coat and start walking. 

* * *

The hallways are never busy. No one ever stops, always moving from one place to another. In the biggest hallway on the second floor, Cal stands in the middle, listening. Their favorite thing to do. Observing the activity of the house brings them peace. With their eyes closed behind their blindfold, they search for activity. The door next to them is open. 

“Vea, why does he look like that?” Bee’s voice can probably be heard all the way downstairs in the pillow room. 

“Because he doesn’t see the sun often and is sleep deprived.” 

“Man has the posture of a shrimp!” 

“And? You still watch Tommyinnit.” 

Bee splutters. “Tommyinnit doesn’t look like a chihuahua given human form.” 

A wheeze escaping out through the door, Vea responds, “yes he does though!” 

A smirk tugs at Cal’s lips as they picture the scene inside the room. Vea would be draped over the edge of the bunk bed, facing Bee as they argue. Bee would be standing in the middle of the room, vaeir feet planted and a scowl on vens face. Cal can tell from their voices that both are on the edge of laughter, Vea in danger of sliding onto the floor carpeted in shaggy yellow. The room is decorated with bees due to their shared love of the fuzzy critters. 

Tuning out of their squabble as laughter tumbles out of the area, Cal listens for other conversation. Across the hall is the strangest room or set of rooms in the house: the Max and Cinna zone. Somehow, they have separate rooms and a combined room, all occupying the same space. Nobody knows how that happened or why it can exist, but nonetheless, there it is. 

“Why did you tell me to chug an entire can of Pepsi? Now my mouth hurts!” Cinna complains. 

Max’s voice sounds higher up than Cinna’s. Pu’s probably sitting on one of the high ledges in the room. “I didn’t _make_ you do it, I just said ‘bet you won’t’!” 

“That’s the same thing you fucking twink!” 

“Hey, hey, Cinna, remember the time we screeched Your New Boyfriend and Money Machine together at the same time, very out of sync?” 

“Yeahhh! I think-” 

“Wait.” Max drops down from wherever pu was sitting. Cal hears the thud on the floor. “Cinna, important question, if we were Sapnap and Karl… who would be who?” 

Cal knew Cinna was frowning without opening their eyes. “I don’t actually know… I think I would be Karl.” 

Max wails. “Why do I have to be the horny gay one?” 

At that point, Cal decides to go back to their room. _That’s enough chaos for one day,_ they think as they wind through the hallways. Just as they turn the final corner, they run into someone barreling along at full speed. 

“Oh!- sorry, are you okay?” Cal asks, offering a hand in case the person needs help. “Wait, Anna? What’s going on? I haven’t seen you since this morning.” 

“Sorry, can’t talk, busy,” Anna rushes out, already running around the corner again. Cal frowns but keeps walking. Just as they reach for the doorknob, someone calls their name. 

“Hey Cal, Cal, hey Cal Fakenoblade, can you help us settle a debate?” Bee shouts, before leaning over panting to rest vaeir hands on vaeir knees. 

Cal sighs, “as long as it’s quick.” 

“So-” Vea bursts out from behind Bee, “if I was a main character, which I’m not, I’m a side character-” “You have a playlist!” “Shut up, if I was, would I be Megamind? Cause I don’t see it.” 

“But you are, you’re totally Megamind dude, fucking accept it!” 

“Alright look-” Cal interjects, “Yes, Vea is not the main character, yes, she would be Megamind, alright bye.” 

Bee and Vea walk back down the hallway, and Cal hears Bee’s voice as they turn. “Alright, now back to what I was saying about those fountain pen videos-” vens voice fades away. With another sigh, Cal opens the door and walks into their room.

They hang their coat in the closet and undo the cloth over their eyes, setting it down on the desk before falling in bed, hands behind their head as they stare up at the ceiling. 

“Why do I only feel safe here?” they question, knowing no one else is in the room. They sit up in bed and look around. “What’s so special about this place? Why am I always terrified out of my mind anywhere else in this house?” 

As they continue to question, they get out of bed and pace around the room for a few minutes, overflowing their mind with thoughts of what they could possibly be going through. Kyle winds around their feet, almost tripping them several times. 

They stop dead in their tracks, looking straight ahead blankly with an odd expression. “What if it’s-” But at that moment, something cuts them off. 

“HELLO MOTHER I AM GAY,” comes a loud voice from the closet, making Cal jump so high they almost hit the ceiling. Kyle yowls and runs out the door. 

“Cloud, how many times do I have to tell you to not come in here without knocking while I’m monologuing?” Already they can feel the thoughts slipping out of their head. 

“Sorry mother, I was just coming out of the closet to tell you that I am gay and also that I got my braces off today!” 

“Cloud, you say that every single time you come into my room.” _Maybe I shouldn’t have made the secret entrance in the closet._ “Congratulations on the braces?” 

Cloud grins widely. “Teeth are so weird, I can’t believe this is what they feel like.” 

“Cloud. They’re teeth.” Cal rubs their face in gentle exasperation. 

“Why do they have to be teeth? Why can’t all food just be soup? Wow, my teeth are so smooth. Okay I’m gonna go back to my college essay.” 

“Have fun!” Cal calls after her, hearing the door in the closet close before the words make it through. They turn back to their bed, trying to remember what they were thinking of. Giving up, they decide to come back to that another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cal joined the writing team!! Go follow @fakenoblade on Tumblr :)


	4. The Pillow Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another round of chaos.

“Alright, time to leave,” Calvin exclaims jokingly, throwing the last dart at the dartboard and plopping down on an open armchair in their room. 

“The blind man gets mad at the fact that they’re bad at darts? How ironic,” Crunchie says, snickering under its breath. Cal and Crunchie have been in the room for about two hours, talking and playing games while Hartley sleeps on one of Cal’s sofas. He’s been there for a while, which was understandable, considering he didn’t fall asleep until 7:30 AM. 

“I will bodyslam you out of the window,” Cal says through a snarl. 

Crunchie laughs at them. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Froggie,” it replied, throwing a cookie crumb at their hair. Froggie was a nickname that it’d randomly started calling Cal. It was odd at first, but Cal didn’t complain, they quite like the nickname. Besides, it’s better than the last nickname. 

Crunchie’s phone buzzed. “Shit, I gotta bounce, I promised someone I’d go skating with them at this place down the road from their apartment. People are saying it’s hella haunted,” it said, grabbing its skateboard and heading toward the door. 

“Don’t get hurt, fuckass,” Cal said, getting up and putting a blanket over Hartley. 

“I won’t!” it said, and with that, both it and Cal walk out of the room, Cal closing the door softly and walking in the opposite direction as Crunchie. 

Passing by the hallways where they stood yesterday, Cal glances at the open door. Bee and Vea are in their room and Cal can’t hear any noise. With a frown, they walk over to the doorway to see what’s going on. Bee’s antennae twitch as ve glares at the face in front of them. Vea meets vaem with a stone glare, her red and purple eyes motionless as she meets Bee’s stare. 

“I’m gonna kill you and then kill you again.” Bee doesn’t shift vaier crossed arms as ve speaks. 

The tension grows in the silence. Vea opens her mouth, possibly to answer, when a voice echoes behind Cal. “God, would you two just kiss already?” Green hands announce Cinna’s presence before his head appears, face exasperated. 

“EW!” Vea slides off the edge of her bed where she was hanging, twisting just before she hits her head on the floor. 

“Fucking gross!” Bee shouts at the same time, vens face scrunched up in disgust. 

Cinna deadpans, “you two are literally wearing wedding rings.” 

“And? A pronoun enthusiast can’t be platonic partners with ven gay weeb?” Bee challenges, vaier glare now fixed on Cinna. 

“You both have they/them pronouns in your pronounys and you’re wearing frog rings. Seems like a declaration of love to me!” 

Dusting off her knees, Vea chimes in, “Cinna, have you ever heard of a little word called platonic?” 

“If we were gay lovers we’d have a garlic bread painting on the wall. Do you see any garlic bread anywhere? Huh? HUH?” 

Cinna doesn’t bother responding and leaves while he still has his dignity, ignoring if any sounds or laughs trail him. Cal looks at Bee and Vea for a second longer before deciding to follow Cinna. Sometimes, the pair is better left alone. They slowly walk down the stairs and trudge into the pillow room, tired. They scan the walls. Most of the usual suspects are missing, strangely enough, but a large group is laughing in the corner. Cal heads towards them, starting to hear the conversation as they get closer. 

“‘-a hot dragon man eats me?’ What? Cody, when would I ever want something like that?” Almond playfully taps Cody’s arm, leaning away from him briefly to pop a cookie in her mouth. Cal arranges a couple pillows into a quick nest, settling in to listen. 

Cinna, lounging on a nearby black pillow, grins. “Wilbur in Tommy’s latest video be like.” 

“My job is to tease Almond-” Cody starts. 

“Please go run away.” 

“I’ll just bother you in our texts,” he winks. 

Cog sits next to Cinna, tail swishing. “God, y’all are clingy,” fox directs at the couple. 

Almond ignores fox. “If it has anything to do with hot dragon men I’m blocking you.” 

Fox leans over to poke her. “Alm, we all know you’re a Wilbur kinnie!” 

Cinna flops back dramatically. “I love how Almond completely ignored my funny joke.” 

"I didn’t watch that video, sorry Cinna!” 

Cog chimes in, “Do it, Cody.” 

“Do what? I already lost track of the conversation.” 

Fox frowns. “I want to fight your boyfriend, Almond.” Fox balls up fox’s fists and clenches the pillow fabric in fox’s hands. 

Almond laughs. “He could literally step on you, shortass.” 

“He is a twig, that I will snap.” Cog has a snarl on foxes face, and Cal can’t tell if foxes is actually angry. 

Cody apparently can’t either. “I’m just gonna… go for now.” He brushes his lips across Almond’s forehead before carefully standing up and picking his way out of pillow room. 

Cog’s fists slowly relax, and a brief silence falls over the group before a Kiwi accent pops the bubble. 

“Wait, we’re fighting people?” Zellkie’s voice is one of the few that really stands out in the house. She has the strangest sleep schedule to most: she sleeps all day and is active at night. Sometimes, there’s some overlap, like right now. It’s getting late and most of the server members are chatting to wind down for the night. 

Almond looks up at Zell’s face. “I’ve been unjustly accused of simping for dragons. Of all the weird shit I’m into, you choose to bully me over the one thing I’m _not_ into.” She directs the last statement at Cog with a scowl. 

“Fucking dirt block!” 

“Dolphin!” 

Eyes wide, Zellkie says, “What the fuck is wrong with you dickheads?” Cinna glances up with a grin, somehow having found a hot drink. She rolls her eyes at him in mock annoyance and turns on her heel to head out. Cal guesses she’s on her way to go find Corn; the two of them are good friends. Before she makes it more than a few steps, Pepper runs up and skids to a stop. 

“I heard Dilfza and I was summoned.” 

_Oh no._

"She said dickhe-" 

“Mmm, Dilfza. I have no idea what this means.” 

“It means he’s a dad and he’s hot, Zell,” Pepper shouts in a stage whisper. All conversation in the room stops as heads swivel over to the confrontation. Cal raises their eyebrows. After a beat of silence, a golden star flies over and bounces off of Pepper’s head. Nobody seems to notice except Cal. As the room starts to erupt, two more stars whiz over in quick succession. A room directly behind the opening to the side lights up with new content. The beams piercing around the door brush the dust off of its nameplate, revealing a name Cal thought would never see light again. 

_Starboard._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, I am a dramatic bitch, I know. Anyway, a bunch of new characters here today! Light and fluffy chaos, unlike the roleplaying we did in #cursed for some reason :eyes:.


	5. The Extras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The extra scenes that weren't added.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so! after a lot of shit, i left sleepyheads along with almost everyone in this fic. i'm not going back, because it's not the same sleepyheads that this was originally written about, and i don't feel any connection anymore. however, cal and i did write a few more scenes that were never added so here they are :) enjoy

“HEY LOOK I’M GONNA ROLLER SKATE!” Anna hears the slick roll of wheels across the floor, followed by a loud thud and a louder crash. “I HAVE FALLEN!” Vea announces loudly, her voice now on the opposite side of the room. Anna rushes in through the door, darting her eyes around for Vea.  


The white doors are splayed inward, not matching the natural bend of their joints. Splinters line the doorframe like teeth, contrasting the soft, thin curtains on the window. Vea sits in the center of the closet, skates still spinning, chewing loudly. The lights from the wheels cast dancing spots along the walls, hurting Anna’s eyes. Bee, next to her, unwraps another bright pink piece of gum and shoves it into Vea’s already full mouth before popping the next into vaiers. A large bubble swells, stretching dangerously close to the wooden spikes. “How many pieces do you have?” Anna blurts out in shock.  


“Heiahathien!” Vea mumbles, her eyes sparkling. Bee pipes up, “she said eighteen!” Before Anna can question how Bee understood that, Vea says something else, the syllables jumbled into a blur. Bee nods. “This is her record from last time she tested.” More gibberish. “She was eight the last time she tried, though, and the gum was bad. I think she’ll make it to thirty today!” Anna blinks at ven.  


Next to them, Pepper somehow has a bright blue measuring tape, and she holds it up to Vea’s head. “Nine inches… nine and a half… nope, back down to nine… oh OH CAREFUL-!” The bubble pops in a blink, pink goo splatter all three faces as smiles split across their cheeks. Behind Bee’s back, a purple portal folds into itself, hiding a store covered wall to wall in pink. A mess of wrappers is visible in the center of an aisle, clearly Vea’s last place for popping her gum.  


The giggling goblins wipe off their faces, smearing pink lines into their cheeks, before noticing Anna. They laugh even harder as Anna scowls, her mouth fighting a grin. Her playful mood rises as she prods, “you gonna use that bubblegum to patch your knee scrape or do I have to mom you into the bathroom to clean that up?”  


“Yeah, yeah, I’ll go clean it out,” Vea says, a few more giggles escaping her sticky mouth. She stands up and promptly drops right back down as her wheels skid out from under her. Bee and Pepper fall against each other in tears, struggling to catch their breath. After a beat, Vea joins in. Anna shakes her head with a smile before heading back out of the room. They take care of themselves well enough; she doesn’t need to nag her siblings too much.  


* * *

The flame dances, tossing light and shade around casually. The walls of the room catch the specks and shimmer in the early hours of the morning. Anna sits entranced. The slender wick shivers and drops some ash. Wax pools in the glass. Cal leans over the candle, their head almost bumping into Anna’s. Neither notices. The pair stares into the flame, breathing in warm vanilla air. The room slips into a trance, the chords of Hayloft in the background waving into puddles. Anna and Cal each have a hand cupped around the glass, absorbing its heat.  


* * *

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”  


Anna jumps at the question, quickly looking behind her and seeing Cal with their hands in their pockets. They look nervous, something she doesn’t see a lot from them.  


“Jesus, Calvin- What did I tell you about popping out of nowhere like that?” She says, to which Cal chuckles nervously. She sighs. “What did you want to tell me?” She asks, putting down the milkshake she was holding.  


Calvin rocks side to side slightly. “Just.. Follow me,” they reply, turning and walking down the hallway toward the back door. Anna sighs again, then follows Cal.  


“What are we doing?” Anna says, walking beside Cal, to which they mumble something under their breath. “...Alright, then,” she says, pursing her lips.  


The two walk for a bit longer, going through the halls that eventually lead to the big backyard, when Cal stops and looks at Anna, twisting one of the rings on their fingers.  


“Before I show you this, you have to promise me something,” they say, flapping their arms slightly, something they did that was caused by the feeling of excitement and anxiety at the same time. “Promise you won’t leave after I show you this, okay? Promise you won’t get upset,” Cal asks, anxiously looking her in the eyes.  


Anna tilts her head, then nods. “I’d never leave you.”  


Cal nods and walks out the door, Anna following close behind.  


The two walk to the middle of the yard and stop, Cal looking up at the sky. Anna follows their gaze for a moment, then remembers that they don’t have a gaze.  


“Look up,” Cal says.  


Anna looks at the bright sky and squints. “It’s hard to look straight at the sun,” she says.  
“Yeah, I know. Let me fix that,” Cal says. They then wave their hand to the right, and clouds slowly start to appear, covering the blue midday sky.  


Anna takes a step back in shock then stares at Calvin. She opens her mouth to speak, but Cal cuts her off.  


“I know, I know,” they say. “I figure you’ll ask how I did that next.”  


“How the fuck did you do that?” she asks, slapping her hand over her mouth after realizing they’d correctly guessed what she was going to say.  


Cal gives a nervous smile. “It’s hard to explain.. Let me show you instead,” they say. After that, they remove their blindfold. If Anna wasn’t in a complete and utter state of confusion before, she is now. Cal has never, not once, taken off their blindfold anywhere outside of their room, yet here they are, where anyone watching from a window could see. They’ve always told Anna it was an anxiety thing, but she always had doubts, especially now.  


“Look somewhere. Doesn’t have to be specific, just look in any general direction other than where I am,” Cal says, shuffling side to side again.  


Anna is still confused, but does what they said nonetheless. She chooses to simply turn around, being the most simple choice.  


“Okay, now look back,” Cal says. This time their voice sounds… Weird. They are echoing, which is even more confusing, but still Anna turns back around to face Cal. There’s nobody there.  


“Where did you go..? Cal?” She looks around, unable to find them.  


She hears Cal’s voice again, but this time it’s normal, and she can tell it was from behind her. “Now turn back around.”  


Anna turns, now staring directly at Cal, though this time they look.. Different? Anna doesn’t know how to describe what she’s looking at, but she knows that it’s still Cal.  


The figure standing in front of her strongly resembles Cal, but looks almost god-like. Their skin is barely skin anymore, it’s a form of mist that swirls around and shifts in different places, but still takes humanoid shape. Their hair, or what resembles their hair, is now a thick cloud that seems to flow in the wind. Small bits of electricity also flows through their almost transparent body, but never touches anything outside of their form. They still have their clothes, but those too have taken an almost mist form.  


“So… Yeah.” They say. “This is me.”  


Anna stares at them, barely being able to respond.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, this is the first fic I've written that has real people, so uh. Hi guys! My Tumblr is @vibraphone1o1 but I'm never active lol, add me on Discord chorusstar1o1#8262 :)


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